Lambert's Point, Norfolk

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Location and History

Map of Lambert's Point Neighborhood. Retrieved 2025 from Google Maps.

Lambert's Point is one of the oldest neighborhoods and industrial areas in Norfolk, Virginia. Lambert's Point is situated along the southern shore of the Elizabeth River and has deep-water port facilities.

Detail from the 1889 Atlas of Norfolk from the Sargeant Memorial Collection at the Norfolk Public Library. Retrieved from Lambert's Point: A Historical Geography.[1]
The Lambert's Point neighborhood in 1934 from the Sargeant Memorial Collection at the Norfolk Public Library. Retrieved from Lambert's Point: A Historical Geography.[1]

Named for Thomas Lambert, who patented 100 acres there in 1635,[2] the neighborhood began as a company town for Black railroad workers.[3] In 1883, the first trainload of coal arrived in Norfolk from the Pocahontas Coalfield in West Virginia,[2] and coal quickly replaced cotton as the city's main export. At the time, the Norfolk & Western Railroad piers were located in downtown Norfolk on the Elizabeth River waterfront. Because more space was needed to handle the growing shipments of coal, Norfolk & Western expanded into Lambert's Point in 1886.

By 1900, the Norfolk & Western Terminal had become the top coal-exporting port on the East Coast.[2] In 1911, Lambert's Point officially became part of the City of Norfolk.[2]

Indigenous Nations

Map of the Powhatan paramount chiefdom in 1607. Retrieved 2026 from Nansemond Indian Nation.

The area of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach, has been home to the Chesepian followed by the Powhatan people. Today, the Nansemond Indian Nation has their headquarters in Norfolk, just down the Elizabeth River from Lambert’s Point.[4] The land along the Elizabeth River, and across much of south-eastern Virginia, is still known to Indigenous people who live there as "Tsenacommacah" meaning "land of many villages" in the local Eastern-Algonquian dialect.[4]

Old Dominion University Expansion and Neighborhood Destruction

In the 1960s and 70s, Old Dominion University (ODU) bulldozed parts of Lambert’s Point to expand their campus causing the neighborhood to shrink in size and forcing many long term residents to move away.[5] This was despite the fact that Lambert's Point was a middle-class neighborhood with thriving businesses and many homeowners. This is part of a long, racist history of Virginia's public universities displacing Black residents.[5]

Today

Lambert's Point continues to be a predominantly African American neighborhood[3] with a strong sense of community. The typical household earns around $42,000 a year, which is less than the citywide median household income in Norfolk of $64,017.[3]

Coal Dust Pollution

The Norfolk Southern Terminal, formerly the Norfolk & Western Terminal, remains a feature of life in Lambert's Point, with its operations influencing the local economy, the ambient noise of trains screeching slowly along the tracks, and the distinctive black coal dust residues that are common on the outside surfaces of buildings. Residents have reported respiratory problems and other health concerns they attribute to long-term coal dust exposure. Organizations such as the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter and New Virginia Majority have partnered to amplify residents' voices, calling for measures such as covered railcars and enclosed conveyor systems, independent air quality monitoring, and changes to federal environmental regulations.[6]

Norfolk Southern currently uses a wet dust suppression system, with sprinklers coating the coal-filled railcars with reused stormwater. Many community members argue that these measures are insufficient and that the problem persists.[7] Norfolk Southern maintains that air quality in Lambert's Point is below regulatory standards and covering coal cars is prohibitively expensive.

The neighborhood is also subject to lots of traffic emissions, as it is bordered on one side by Hampton Boulevard, one of the main truck routes servicing the Port of Virginia.[8]

Community

Landmarks

Lambert's Point Open Space: In 2023, a grassroots community organization supported by the Lambert’s Point Civic League advocated for the City of Norfolk to build a new city park in Lambert's Point on a former golf course, previously a landfill. In 2024, the City of Norfolk designated the area for public use as Lambert's Point Open Space.
Old Dominion University (ODU): ODU is a public research university established in 1930 as a two-year extension of the College of William & Mary that became independent in 1962. The school has expanded into the Lambert’s Point,[5] and, since the 1950s, at least 40 blocks of the Lambert’s Point neighborhood have been leveled and rebuilt into campus space.

Historical Records

Mapping Lambert's Point: In 2016, a group of undergraduate and graduate students from ODU interviewed residents who grew up in Lambert’s Point during the 1950s and 1960s to learn about how the neighborhood has changed over time. The students also gathered historical accounts of life in the neighborhood from the early 20th century in the Norfolk Journal and Guide. This archive is available to the public on Mapping Lambert's Point, featuring transcribed interviews and photographs that highlight residents' stories and mapped to the places that shaped their experiences in the neighborhood.[9]
Lambert’s Point: A Historical Geography: This collection was produced by students as part of an ODU historical geography course. Lambert’s Point: A Historical Geography includes historical content discussing the Norfolk & Western Railroad and the transport of coal through Lambert's Point, expansion of ODU, redlining of Lambert's Point by the Home Owner's Loan Corporation, and many maps and photographs, among other resources.

Documents

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lambert's Point: A Historical Geography, Undated.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 McPhillips, P. Lambert’s Point. Norfolk Public Library. 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 U.S. Census Bureau, Census Tract 25, Norfolk, Virginia, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Census Reporter Profile, 2023.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Nansemond Indian Nation, Tribal History, 2025.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hansen, Virginia's Public Universities Have a Long History of Displacing Black Residents, ProPublica, September 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ Petition For Rulemaking: To Establish Nationwide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit for Uncovered Railcars Transporting Coal Pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1342(A), 2023.
  7. ↑ Harrison, 'We Need Serious Help': Lambert's Point Community Says Coal Dust Is Endangering Their Lives, 13 News Now, November 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ Murphy, Historically Black Neighborhoods in Norfolk, Newport News Will Get Air Quality Monitoring, WHRO Public Media, WHRO, September 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ Vera, ODU Looks to Shed Light on "Neighborhood without a Voice", The Virginian Pilot, September 20, 2016.
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